Fabricational morphology of oblique ribs in bivalves

The formation of oblique ribs of bivalve shells usually has been attributed to processes of reaction-diffusion of morphogens from cell to cell at the mantle margin or neural activation and lateral inhibition in the mantle. In particular, such ribs appear with high rates of lateral diffusion. Nevertheless, theoretical models fail to explain either partially or wholly some varieties of oblique ribs. After surveying the modes of formation of the shell and oblique ribs by the bivalve mantle and associated fabricational defects, I have determined that the mantle is able to develop an elaborate behavior in order to displace the rib in a particular direction during growth. The mantle margin is, therefore, not only the shell-secreting organ, but also the main morphogenetic unit. In particular, there are two main fabricational strategies. In forms with strict contact guidance (SCG) the mantle is able to project far enough beyond the shell margins so as to feel the already formed reliefs and to align new growth increments of the ribs in the appropriate directions. The shell margin is always strongly reflected. In bivalves with reduced contact guidance plus constant lateral shift (RCG), the margin is usually acute and the information about ribs available to the mantle is reduced. During rib construction the mantle extrudes slightly from the shell edge and then pushes laterally by muscular action; in this way, the new growth increment of the rib is displaced laterally on a small scale. The contact-guidance model is supported also by the homogeneous structure of the shell-secreting mantle. From the morphogenetic standpoint, oblique ribs are related to commarginal ones and both differ completely from other ribbing patterns of bivalves.